


No One Knows Me Better

by MyFirstAndLastVow09



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Angst, Ed is thawed, Future, Hopeful Ending, Iceberg Lounge, M/M, Nygmobblepot, Post Season 3, Protective Ivy, These two need to have a serious talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-18 17:24:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11879274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyFirstAndLastVow09/pseuds/MyFirstAndLastVow09
Summary: Oswald is upset and no one can seem to calm him down. Takes place after Ed thaws and some time passes. Post Season 3





	No One Knows Me Better

Ivy sighed as she watched her friend pace the large conference room adjacent to the main part of the Iceberg Lounge. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably, and glanced over to Bridgit, who shook her head.

“I’m not trying to talk him down. He’s gone off the deep end.” Bridgit commented.

“Someone has to,” Ivy whispered. She glanced at Victor, who sighed.

“I can try, I guess,” Victor offered. Sounds of metal clanking filled the room as Victor stood up to walk over to Oswald. He steeled his resolve before he spoke. “What do you need me to do, boss?”

“They stole from me! After everything I’ve done for them!” Oswald repeated for the umpteenth time.

Victor hated seeing Oswald like this. After everything that he had been through over the past year, he knew Oswald’s blood pressure couldn’t take much more of his anger. He wanted to calm him down a little. Oswald felt a cool hand rest on his shoulder, and raised an eyebrow at him.

“Unless you are offering to freeze them and then shatter them into a million pieces, I want to know why you think it is appropriate to—“

“You need to calm down, Oswald.” Victor told him firmly. “This isn’t going to get you anywhere,”

“Doing _nothing_ gets me nowhere!” Oswald shouted. “I want their heads on a pike!”

A new voice cut in out of the shadows. The figure was tall and looming, looking over the scene with a smirk on his face. He threw a plain, heavy black bag on the table, making them all jump. “I think you’ve been looking for this,”

Oswald knew that voice, and it made his blood boil, in both a bad and good way, much to his displeasure. “ _What are you doing here?”_ Oswald hissed through gritted teeth. Edward Nygma stepped into the lighting, still wearing that god damned smirk, dressed head to toe in green. “This is a private meeting!”

“Oh, word on the street was is that someone decided it was a good idea to steal from the infamous Penguin. Bad move, I’d say.” Ed tried to play it nonchalant, but in truth he knew how Oswald could get in times of stress. Ed knew he would pace back and forth, yelling on a tirade, and sending his blood pressure through the roof. Luckily for the three at the table just now, Oswald cared for them immensely. He wouldn’t hurt them, even out of anger. He usually went on these rants with a glass or sometimes a whole bottle of some kind of alcohol in his hand. He glanced over the rest of the group, noting Ivy eyeing him warily. Victor Fries looked like he wanted nothing more than to make him a centerpiece again.

“What do you care?” Oswald spat, walking slowly toward him. “You’re the one who shot me and dumped me into rotten, cold water to bleed to death.”

“And you turned me into an ice pop. I’d say we’re even.” Ed rose an eyebrow in challenge. He could tell Oswald was angry by the veins popping out in his neck. He took a step towards Oswald, making Ivy, Victor and Bridgit stand out of their seats, the latter two with their hands on their weapons. Oswald stiffened visibly and Ed held his hands up to show he mean no harm.

“Back off,” Ivy threatened.

“I would _gladly_ see you in the center of this club again, Nygma.” Victor growled.

“Roasted on a spit,” Bridgit added, narrowing her eyes at him.

“I have no ill intentions toward Penguin,” Ed told the other three. He smiled softly at them, thankful Oswald had people to protect him like this. “You don’t know how to calm him down, do you?”

Ivy sighed a little, and her shoulders lost the tension they’ve been holding. “No, and believe me we’ve tried.” She wondered why Ed was asking this, but kept it to herself for now.

“I offered to go after them myself.” Victor told Ed.

“He gets like this sometimes. It’s not good for his blood pressure,” Ed responded.

Oswald was getting even more annoyed at them talking about _him_ like he wasn’t even there, or their BOSS. “I am right here!” He shouted.

“Pengy, he brought the money back for you. What would you want done with the offenders?” Ivy asked, sweetly. Ed turned to Oswald then, and rested a hand on his shoulder with caution. He used to do this while their time together when Oswald was mayor. Oswald couldn’t help it; he visibly relaxed within seconds of the touch.

“Comfort helps the psyche,” Ed said, matter of fact.

Bridgit scoffed in disbelief. “He hasn’t let anyone get that close to him. Ivy has been the closest, but she’s more like his daughter or baby sister than anything,”

“Come on,” Ed guided Oswald back out of the room and into where he knew Oswald’s office was. He made sure Oswald was seated and comfortable before going back out to where the others were still waiting. “Fries, I know you hate me, but this is for him. I want them in pieces for making him this upset,”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Victor nodded once, and began making his way outside. Bridgit hollered she wasn’t going to be left behind, and Ivy walked up to Ed once more, grabbing his forearm tightly.

“If you hurt him again, believe me…there will be no one that will ever find the body after I’m through with you. I am very good with plants, and you would make an excellent fertilizer for them, _Riddler.”_ Ivy narrowed her eyes once with her warning, and walked away back to the other part of the Iceberg. Ed shuddered with her threat, and went back into the office, where Oswald was still seething.

“I cannot believe it! After everything I’ve done for them! I made sure their restaurant didn’t get shut down by bailing them out of their loans! I even paid to have it remodeled after it got vsandalized! Why does everyone think they can walk all over me and there will not be consequences??” Oswald shouted from behind his desk, banging his fist on the table. Ed removed his hat, and sat it on the corner of the desk. He poured a glass of water for Oswald that was sitting beside the desk, and went over to him. A different approach than what he had done when Oswald was mayor, he knelt to the floor and grasped both of Oswald’s shoulders.

“Relax. Everything is being taken care of,” Ed said firmly.

“How did you even know about this? For that matter, why do you care?” Oswald asked, accusingly.

“Calm down first, and maybe you will get an answer. You know you have high blood pressure, Oswald. I know that hasn’t changed since we—since when I was your Chief of Staff,” Ed didn’t want to say the wrong thing and have Oswald throw him out. “Did you take your medicine today?”

“This morning.” Oswald replied, Ed looking at him skeptically. Don’t look at me like that, Ed. Of course I did. You think I want to have a heart attack in my 30s? No thank you,” Oswald told the taller man. For his part, his brain was running a mile a minute, all because of this man kneeling in front of him. While before he desperately wanted to be in this close proximity to this man, now he wasn’t sure if he wanted to punch him or kiss him breathless. The two decisions were currently battling it out. Oswald accepted the glass of water from Ed and took a sip, relishing the cool sensation down his throat. “Thank you,”

“Someone has to keep you from popping a blood vessel.” Ed joked, with a half-smile.

“I have to ask again, why are you here?” Oswald had calmed down a little, Ed’s touch doing what it always did…calming him. Made him find his center again so he didn’t lose control.

“I wanted to talk. About…about the truce we have.” Ed removed his hands from Oswald’s shoulders, just to get his bearings. “While I am grateful that we could come to an agreement after all that we’ve been through, I wish to pursue something different,”

Oswald felt like he had been punched in the gut. “What does _that_ mean? Do you wish to rescind your half of the truce? Because, _Ed,_ I can honestly say that that is a dangerous and foolish move to make,” Ed shivered at the flash of danger in Oswald’s eyes.

“No, no. Not at all. Actually, I was hoping we could be friends—again,” Ed admitted, waiting for the backlash.

“Friends?” Oswald repeated, disbelieving.

“I miss my best friend. I have since this whole thing started,” Ed was laying it all out since he honestly had nothing to lose. If Oswald wanted to shoot him for even mentioning it, he would accept the bullet gladly. Ed felt like everything in his life at the moment was without purpose; without meaning. Nothing ever added up. It felt like without Oswald by his side, it didn’t make any sense. The last time he and Oswald worked together as a team was when they fought their way out of the Court of Owls, and it took Ed’s breath away. How Oswald worked so seamlessly, how ruthless he was, how every movement was planned and fluid, like an artist worked with their medium…Ed truly hated at the time to admit he had so much more to learn from Oswald Cobblepot.

“I—I don’t know,” Oswald finally breathed out.

“I understand if you are wary of my intentions.”

“Intentions? Ed, this is out of the blue. We’ve been playing by the rules for months now, and you just come in here tonight and think that—“

“Rules are meant to be broken. I know you know that better than anyone.” Ed retorted. Oswald stood up to look Ed in the face.

“You don’t get it, do you?” Oswald shook his head, and chuckled darkly. “Just because I don’t want you dead, does not give you the right to ask _anything_ of me.”

Ed scooted closer to him, so close that he felt the smaller man tense in front of him. “I can make this promise to you now, Oswald. I will never ever hurt you again. I hated myself when I did. I took pills that almost killed me just to see you again,”

“I know, you told me. Which I don’t know if I can believe or not. Your beautiful brain should never be clouded with anything so mundane and destructive,” Oswald blurted out without thinking. “I mean—“

“I regretted shooting you that day.” Ed said, softly.

“I regret trying to choose for you. I should have let you be happy,” Oswald felt a tear running down his cheek, and Ed smoothed his thumb over his thumb to wipe it away.

“Losing her was hard, I’ll admit. But, losing you _killed_ me.” This made Oswald look up at Ed, tears shining in his eyes. “It destroyed me. When I saw you in the cage at The Court, I didn’t know if I was angry at you or myself. I was just so—angry,”

“I know and you had every right to be,” Oswald loved the feel of Ed’s hand on his cheek. This was the closest they had been in months.

“ _Can_ we be friends again? I miss you so much, Oswald.” Ed pleaded a little, but he didn’t care. Oswald had already seen him mind, body and soul laid bare, and yet he loved him anyway; which Ed never would have thought possible and still struggled to understand. Kristen literally tried to run away when she saw parts of him she didn’t like. Isabella only wanted the darker side of him, not really accepting that wasn’t all that there was. But, Oswald…Oswald had not only accepted every dark, ugly, disgusting piece of him that was there, he brought out the best in Ed as well.

“We can try. I don’t—I still love you, Ed. That’s why I had you frozen in the first place. I could never see you dead. It would have broken me.” Oswald said, sadly.

Ed sucked in a breath at this admission. “After everything that has happened? Everything I have put you through?”

“Yes. I’ve never loved another,” Oswald told him honestly. “I never will either. But, that doesn’t mean it still doesn’t hurt. I know we hurt each other, Ed. Pretty badly, and it will take time to mend that. However, I do know that I would like to try,”

Ed smiled. “I would like nothing more. We were better together,”

Oswald returned the smile with one of his own. “We are,” he agreed. “You helped me tonight, immensely. Thank you,”

“I know how you get, Oswald.” Ed smirked, and Oswald pushed him lightly on the shoulder.

“No one knows me better,” Oswald said, liking that he could be with Ed like this for now. More than anything he had missed his best friend, like Ed had. He wanted Ed not just as a lover, but as his most trusted companion.

Maybe fate had a way of pushing people together, no matter the trials and tribulations. Maybe it was just the universe’s way of letting them both know, ‘Hey, buddy. Here’s your second chance. Don’t screw it up!’, Ed decided. He thought Isabella was his second chance, but when he saw Oswald _alive,_ he knew that was truly it. Oswald didn’t know where this tentative friendship would take them both, but looking into Ed’s chocolate brown eyes, all he saw was the Edward Nygma he had fallen in love with; not the Riddler. Oswald saw nothing but sincerity and promise in his gaze. Fate, it seemed, liked to take her damned time.


End file.
